Ice Breaker
by PeaceofStar
Summary: Jaina chooses an unusual way to get her ranking pilots acquainted with one another. Strip Sabacc... During NJO: Enemy Lines I


A/N: This is version two. I've added some details…

**Disclaimer: Star Wars isn't mine.**

o:o:o

Kyp yawned hugely and ran a hand through his shaggy hair. "Goddess, would you mind telling your lowly minions just _why_ we're here?"

He, Jag, and Phae were standing in the middle of the pilot's lounge wearing their pajamas, looking very sleep-deprived and confused.

Jaina grinned like a hunting manka cat and pulled a small box from her pocket.

"Cards?" asked Phae. "If you wanted to play, Goddess, why didn't you ask us this afternoon?"

"Because," replied Jaina, still smiling deviously. "This is a _special_ game to get to know one another."

Jag raised an eyebrow skeptically, and Kyp glanced warily at the two pilots standing next to him.

Jaina continued, pretending not to notice their hesitation. "Don't worry. It's just like regular sabbacc, but in addition to the pot, the winner gets a piece of clothing from the person with the worst hand."

There was silence at this pronouncement before Phae scoffed. "Why didn't you tell me to just show up wearing nothing? It would have been faster – and less embarrassing – I think."

"Because this is _much_ more fun." Without further explanation, Jaina settled herself at the nearest circular table and gestured to the rest of the seats.

Kyp was the first to join her with a long-suffering sigh. "Whatever the Goddess wishes," he muttered. "I guess."

She nodded happily, before scowling at the still-standing pilots. "And I wish you two would come sit so we can get started."

Reluctantly, Phae and Jag sat down – though Phae looked as though she was doing it against her better judgment, and Jag still looked skeptical.

Grinning, Jaina dealt the first cards to each of them.

Phae grimaced. The first card she picked up was the smiling skull of Demise. Second was the nine of coins. Negative four total. With a shrug, she tossed her credit in to the pot, and waited eagerly to rid herself of the Demise card.

Shuffling the four discarded cards, Jaina handed them back.

She shrugged. The five of staves, and a total of fourteen wasn't so bad.

Not surprisingly, Jaina called the hand then, and each of them laid down their cards. With a diplomatic shrug, Jag slipped off his dogtags and handed them to Jaina.

Kyp winked at Phae. "Come on, Colonel," he teased. "I'm sure that's not all Jaina wants to see."

"Yeah, Jag," added Phae. "You're just delaying the unavoidable."

They were silence by Jag's devious smirk as he shuffled the cards.

Again, Phae slouched lower in her seat. The two of staves and the seven of flasks stared back at her for the total of nine, not a winning hand in any way.

With all the cards laid on the table, she reluctantly handed a sock to Kyp. "Have fun with that," she muttered unenthusiastically.

"It's in better condition than mine," he replied lightly.

She scowled and dealt the cards.

o:o:o

A half a standard hour later she was still scowling, and now she was freezing as well. Jag had one of her socks. Kyp had gained her dog tags as well as the sock. Jaina had possession of her tee-shirt.

Thankfully, she wasn't the only one who'd lost.

Kyp had lost his socks to Jag and Jaina and his tee-shirt to Phae. Jag had lost his dog tags and a sock to Jaina. Jaina, obviously the best player amongst them, had lost a sock to Phae.

"How much longer?" asked Phae, wrapping her arms around herself to lessen the goosebumps as Kyp dealt.

Jaina smirked. "Until there's nothing more to lose."

Phae gaped at her until Kyp elbowed her, and she picked up her cards and relaxed. The ten of coins and the seven of flasks. Seventeen wasn't a winning hand, but at least it was one of the better ones she'd hand.

Several more hands and Phae was beginning to think her luck may have changed. Jaina on the other hand lost another sock to Jag, and Jag was forced to give a sock to Phae and his tee-shirt to Kyp.

Kyp was the first to lose his pants. He sighed exasperatedly when they laid their cards out: Jaina held twenty, Jag had eighteen, Phae had fifteen, and his totaled fourteen. As they laughed, he reluctantly pulled them off and tossed them to Jaina with a scowl.

Phae knew she would be next to lose the minute she looked at her cards. Moderation and the Commander of Sabers. Negative two – her worst hand yet. She sighed when Jag called the hand and the randomizer hadn't hit. Closing her eyes, she laid her hand on the table.

"I guess I should be thankful I'm _only_ losing my pants," she muttered as she slipped out of them and handed them reluctantly to Jag.

o:o:o

The next hand had just begun when a light came on outside the door and a very disheveled General Antilles walked in.

"What in the name of the Sith?" he stammered, covering a yawn.

"Good morning, General Antilles," said Jaina as if nothing was wrong, her face turning slightly pink.

Wedge was still confused and shocked at seeing four of his best pilots playing cards in their underwear in the middle of the night. "Does someone want to explain what you're doing?" he asked.

"Playing cards," said Kyp.

"By special order of the Goddess," added Jag.

Phae nodded. "A _very_ special order."

The General ran a hand through his already disheveled hair. "Jaina, I'm sure you have a good reason for this. Would you care to enlighten me?"

Jaina smiled. "It's just an ice breaker. If we can be comfortable losing clothes to one another, we can be comfortable flying with one another."

"I…see…" said Wedge slowly, and they were all sure he didn't. "Have fun then. You are flying tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Perhaps," she replied with a shrug.

Nodding to himself, the General backed out the door and into the hall, heading back to his quarters – or to enlighten Jaina's parents, whichever he found first.

o:o:o

They had only played a few more hands before Phae received another not-winning hand. "Um, Jaina," she said, "I'd like to point out that I have nothing left to lose."

"Of course you do," Jaina replied, not even looking up.

"_Okay,_" she acquiesced, "I have nothing left that wouldn't leave everyone traumatized if I lost it."

Kyp turned to regard her for a long minute. "I doubt we'd be traumatized. But Goddess, me on the other hand. You'd all have nightmares if I lost another else."

Jaina finally glanced up to give him an appraising look. She smirked and a shudder ran through her. "You're right," she decided, "Jag, I guess it's between you and me."

The last hand was the most hard-fought of their game. Both were excellent players and the winner bounced back and forth several times.

Keeping a perfectly straight face, Jaina called the hand. Smirking, Jag laid down his cards: twenty-one. Smiling like a manka cat, Jaina revealed her cards: the idiot's array – the idiot with a value of zero, the two of flasks, and the three of sabers – a literal twenty-three.

With a sigh, Jag tossed his pants over to a beaming Jaina.

"Now it's up to everyone to get their clothes back," she announced with a very devious smirk, "which depends entirely if the person who has them feels like giving them up."

No one moved for several minutes, glancing nervously around the circle. It was obvious no one wanted to be the first to give their winnings back just in case no one else planned on it.

Finally Jaina wadded up Kyp's socks and tossed them at him. "You can keep these," she advised, "there're too many holes in them for me." She held up his pants with a grin. "But I'm giving these to Phae."

"And just to make things interesting," said Jag, tossing Phae's pants across the table. "Here you go, Kyp."

Jag's sock soared across the table from Phae and nearly hit him in the face. "Too big for me anyway," she told him.

"I'm sure you'll have fun with this, Goddess," said Kyp, tossing Jag's shirt at her with a wink.

o:o:o

After several minutes of throwing clothes across the table, it was quite obvious that no one was going back to their rooms with their clothes, or at least the major parts. There was no possible way they'd get them back until the stories had circulated and they'd been put on display for all to see.

Carrying a bundle of Jaina's clothes, Jag politely excused himself.

Jaina hurried after him, happily holding most of his uniform.

Phae and Kyp walked out of the mess hall a minute later. "So," asked Phae, "how long until Jag gets his clothes back from the Goddess?"

Kyp shrugged. "Depends on his tactics. I'd say he might have them by tomorrow depending on how gracious she is."

"Does that mean I get mine back?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course not," he countered with a wicked smirk. "I have your pants, therefore I have blackmail material."

She growled. "You wouldn't dare."

He raised an eyebrow. "You so sure of that?"

Before she could reply or hit him, he disappeared into the darkness of his quarters, leaving her at the door. Suddenly the door opened again, and he handed her a sock. "You can have this though. It's too small for me."

o:o:o

The next morning, the four pilots and the rest of Twin Suns Squadron took off on an early reconnaissance flight around the system. As they were leaving the atmosphere, General Antilles' voice cracked over the com.

"So, Goddess," he said, "did you achieve what you were trying to last night?"

Jaina smiled. "That I did, sir."

Wedge sighed exasperatedly. "I expect that's why I found Colonel Fel's _entire_ uniform in my office this morning."

"Of course, sir," she replied trying to stifle a laugh.

"If I may ask," he continued as though he really didn't want to know the answer. "How did the rest of your pilots fare?"

Kyp cut in. "Not so bad... Five on the other hand…"

Phae interrupted. "It could have been worse."

"Just don't give the rest of the pilot's any ideas," Wedge advised. "I'd hate to think of what Wes would do knowing you can play strip sabbac…"

They shuddered at the thought of the former Rogue and eternal prankster. "Will do sir," said Jaina, thumbing off the com switch.


End file.
